#Maintenance Charges

Bombay High Court rules that co-operative societies cannot levy maintenance charges without a prior General Body resolution under Section 101 of the Maharashtra Co-operative Societies Act. The court set aside recovery certificates and directed recalculation of charges based on contemporaneous documents, reinforcing procedural compliance for co-operative housing societies.

The ITAT Delhi has ruled that maintenance charges collected by a realty company from tenants constitute business income under the Income Tax Act, not income from house property. This allows the assessee to claim full deductions under Section 37, significantly impacting real estate firms that bundle maintenance fees with rentals and altering how such income is reported and taxed across the sector.

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has ruled that housing societies cannot impose interest or penalties on maintenance dues unless explicitly permitted by their approved bye-laws, reinforcing that statutory compliance under the Haryana Societies Act, 2012 requires clear legal authorization - not administrative discretion. This protects residents from arbitrary financial demands and upholds the principle that governance in cooperative societies must be grounded in documented rules, not unilateral decisions.

Bombay High Court rules that condominium associations seeking interim relief for unpaid maintenance or property tax must establish both the exact quantum owed and a prima facie case. Mere allegations without documentary proof are insufficient, setting a higher evidentiary threshold for monetary claims in housing disputes.